Artemis Fowl: The Enigma Complex
by Xyr
Summary: Artemis felt everything at once, emotion choking his thoughts. Nothing felt right, and once again he had to conquer his feelings. Another thought hit him, if Holly was right, the End of the World was once again seducing him into action. A/H, please R&R.
1. Prologue

**Artemis Fowl: The Enigma Complex**

**Prologue**

**This was an Editorial found in The Atlantis Journal by a P. Sober concerning the relationship of humans and the People. It also tells about the treatments of Mud People with magical blood in them and debates about whether they should be treated differently than other humans. **

_Long ago before Mud People even existed there were the People. Some scientists even speculate that we helped their evolution along from their much more primitive forms. Little did we know in the early days of the Frond dynasty that these creatures would one day overpopulate and turn upon us. Soon after hiding away within the very earth though, many of us forgot that the Mud People had once been more to us than Earth stealing backstabbers. At one time we had gone so far as to consider them equals, no matter how abstract that concept may seem now. _

_And long ago, in the days of Frond as we all lived above the Earth in equality and peace, some fairies even went so far as to fall in love with the various Mud People who had developed enough to attract them, but what of their descendents? Many people today would be baffled by the idea of a fairy and a human being together in any manner, and though even then it was not popular it was still an occurrence seen often enough, and in some rare cases children were born. These were painful and difficult cases if history is to be accounted for. _

_And despite these rare children who often faced problems of their magic conflicting with their bodies, they sometimes had descendents themselves. So in the great retreat of the People, did we unwillingly or unknowingly leave some of our own behind? It has shown through time that some Mud Men have shown strange behavior and been astute in areas that were unexpected of them at the time. Is this perhaps a glimmer of fairy heritage peeking through?_

_And who is to know what happens to those brethren we have exiled and cut off from us out of breaking the laws of the Book? Is there no chance that their relations with the Mud People have never grown strong enough to actually harbor affection? In this we have no proof, but magical talent in humans is something that we must look for because it shows they might have deeper relations and ties to us than the rest of the Mud Scum. Even LEP technician Foaly has admitted to the show of fairy qualities in some humans, to the point of which border on the undeniable. _

_The question now is how to react to these people, if they truly have our blood and magic in their veins. Should we accept them into our world and ways of life, or should we just monitor their actions from afar? Are they to be viewed as a threat to our society or as a new classification altogether? These are the choices we are to face soon, because unless we do something to control these people, they very well could lead to our own downfall._

**The journalist was dismissed from the paper a week later and blown off as a delusionist with too many illogical ideas for a professional paper. No one paid much attention to what the article said beyond the fact that it pitied humans, else it might've saved them some trouble. **

* * *

Not much this chapter, just the usual teaser and foreboding. Please let me know what you think! First Chapter will be up by tomorrow at the latest. I have a lot of other stories beginning so after that is kind of hazy. Please review. Thanks!

~Tamdiu


	2. The Difference of Family

**A/N: Okay, this will probably be the fastest update for a little bit seeing as I'm going to start a large number of projects in a very small frame of time and also try and keep up with them all. By the end of this weekend I'll probably have about four stories going all for different topics. This is my Artemis Fowl, which I have been stewing on for a while. It will be an Artemis and Holly fanfiction but not the sole focus of the plot will be on them. I ****plan**** on integrating Colfer's own style into this. I'm even bringing in new characters, and giving Minerva someone to enjoy. I do hope you like it, but be wary the rating may go up to T depending on my mood, so please understand you'll be subject to graphic details and slight cussing, but not much more. Thanks!**

**Artemis Fowl: The Enigma Complex**

**Chapter One**

**The Difference of Family**

_Every sweet has its sour; every good it's evil. _~**Ralph Waldo Emerson**

* * *

**Salzburg, Austria, North of the Alps, later evening. **

Artemis Fowl rarely liked to leave his home country of Ireland or his home of Fowl Manor where his somewhat demoted and retired friend Butler could keep an eye on him with ease. But at times the youth found it very difficult to wheedle out of every family occasion, and now Angeline Fowl had reigned in her son's acts and had him under a very watchful eye. So Artemis had followed his family to Salzburg, birthplace of Mozart, in order to stay on better terms with his mother's temperament.

He was now in the sitting room of a nice cottage that overlooked the historical buildings and was promptly bored by the entire scene before him. He had tired of the museums and statues years before and his mind craved _stimulus_. But there was no leaving in the middle of this, it was a family vacation, and a chance to get father out again; his mother had absolutely forbade his leaving Austria unless there was an absolute emergency. He somewhat regretted having to have told her everything about the People, but there was no denying his mother now. He could remember the anguish he felt as he spilled all his secrets to her, as he skated across his lies and deceit all over again; for his mother, no less. Perhaps he had gone soft in his time with the fairies, or that was how he'd felt at the time, only a week before their trip to Austria.

* * *

Angeline Fowl had fixed her eldest son with a curious gaze as he entered the small dining room in the west wing of the Fowl Manor, and for the first time she realized how he was awkward in her presence and perhaps even his home. Artemis had tried to case away all the excess emotions he'd had leftover from the previous day, and had made sure to spend a good deal of time meditating before meeting with his mother. Nevertheless, he had not managed to contain everything, and the guilt showed on his face.

They began talking in a relatively polite fashion, as though they'd just stopped on the street to chat, but eventually Artemis could sense his mother drawing in on the subject of their meeting, and she closed upon it like a shark to its prey. Due to his mothers horrendous experience with Opal Koboi he had been forced to tell his mother much more than he would have normally preferred, even the parts that showed him for the criminal pest he'd been as a child.

When his story was through Artemis sighed and leaned back in the dining chair, and waited for her reply. Inside he was a jumble of impatience and nerves at everything he'd just put on the table, but he remained calmer than most under her cool stare. She stayed like that for some time, unresponsive to anything but the thoughts inside her own head. Finally, she took a long deep breath in and murmured, "Oh Arty, it doesn't seem real. I know it is now though, and there's nothing I can do about it."

Artemis himself was puzzled by this response and waited again for her to continue and reveal more of the path of her thoughts.

"I should have been a better mother when your father was away, I should've brought you out of the family goldlust much sooner. There are so many things I should've done to help you Arty, and I didn't do a thing. And now you are more attached to these fairies and People than to your own family, and I can find no one to blame but myself."

He moved to speak, but Angeline raised her hand to silence him and continue on, but Artemis bristled with guilt all the same.

"As for the People and the LEP, I would prefer not to get involved in an interspecies war, though I doubt my discomforts will keep you from consorting with them. At the very least I would appreciate it if you let me know before you go to save the world again; I don't want to be in the dark if you disappear again. Maybe we could show this as an example that your People and us humans can get along, and perhaps we will be the first in a new order. I just need time to think Arty; you've given me a lot to think on."

At times the doubt in her voice was almost tangible, but Artemis knew that his mother had meant every word, the same way he knew she was his mother in the first place. Soon after that their conversation ended, but it would replay itself in Artemis's head time and time again.

* * *

It was this conversation that was currently running through the head of Artemis Fowl the Second as he looked out into the Austrian sky. He had thought it over so many times before, but he still could not figure out why his mother had reacted quite the way he did. After receiving a degree in psychology and writing several papers and articles on the field, Artemis was rather taken aback by this stunt in his thought process. Then again, having and raising children was a thought that had never crossed his mind and he'd never researched it, so he would have no idea the guilt that had wound its way into his mother's heart and why she blamed herself for his misdoings.

A harsh wind blew across the Austrian scene and Artemis found he longed familiar company and intelligent conversation. He reached into a jacket pocket and pulled out the fairy communicator he'd received from Holly so long ago, but found he had no new messages from her and her own way shut off, presumably in a pocket or at her home. Artemis stood and put the communicator back in place, berating himself for sounding so desperate in the last message he'd sent her, and he wondered if it was a small form of punishment on her part, or just mere coincidence. He'd been growing worried, it had been nearly two weeks since his last contact with the People, and the last time they'd gone quite so long without speaking was after he'd had his mind wiped.

The thoughts of Holly and the People were shaken off by someone coming in the door and he found he missed Butler's firm watch of things and his forewarning of visitors. He wished he could feel that reassurance as he stood in the living room that was half his normal bedroom, defenseless against an intruder.

Than the other members of the Fowl family bustled in with Juliet in their wake and Artemis was greeted by an enthusiastic hug from either twin. Really, he thought to himself, they must learn some self restraint.

His father smiled at the rather worked up boys and exclaimed that their skiing trip had been a success. Patting Artemis on the shoulder, his father followed the boys with Juliet up the stairs. Juliet nodded to him as she passed, a smile on her lips, but he knew no memories of their early adventures were left.

Angeline Fowl took Artemis in her arms and kissed his cheek as she yawned softly, and she smiled at him, cheeks still rosy from the frigid outdoor air. Artemis blinked at her tired smile, knowing to accept something good from her relaxed frame. She put a hand on his shoulder and told him something he hadn't realized he'd yearned so badly to hear, "I'm proud of you Artemis. You took the right path, even if you didn't always do the right thing."

With those simple words a tension loosened up within Artemis, and he felt himself lighten, but before he could reply, a harsh beeping interrupted him. His mother seemed to become more aware in an instant, and she blinked at him in surprise, the sound came from his jacket. "What is that Arty?"

Artemis was puzzled for a moment; his fairy communicator was on silent at all times, except…

"That Moth- Mom is a dire emergency."

* * *

**Please tell me what you think! This is the beginning of a journey and I'm going to need serious feedback about what to do later on. The next chapter will be within the next week or so, so it won't be forever away. That's actually where the plot really gets started, this is just a bit of filler with a cliffy of sorts… Anyway, cookies to all who review!!!!!!!!!!!!**

**~Tamdiu**


	3. A Rather Bad Day

**A/N: Thanks to all those who reviewed and supported me with this fic, I hope you enjoy Chapter Two!!!**

**Artemis Fowl: The Enigma Complex**

**Chapter Two**

**A Rather Bad Day**

_Anger is a signal, and one worth listening to._** ~Harriett Lerner**

Trouble Kelp was having a bad day. A very bad day in fact, and as a commanding officer in the LEP, if he was having a bad day it normally meant several more poor creatures down the line were facing the repercussions of this fact. Right now the poor fairy facing his irritation was a rather lowly messenger pixie who had quailed upon coming in and seeing the look the Commander had shot him.

Trouble made no point in trying to hide the sigh that he heaved when the private refused to get to the point, "Look, er, Madill is it? I would like to get back to the report I was just reading about the recent Koboi investigations, so if you could please get to the point I'd very much appreciate it."

The pixie nodded eagerly and tried to stop quivering as he squirmed under the gaze. "Yes Commander, of course, I'm sorry," he squeaked, "I'm reporting on behalf of Captain Kelp, your brother sir. He says to let you know that something has happened in the chutes, sir, and that he would like to have someone else come in to investigate it sir. He also wanted you to know that he has a sprained ankle and will be filing for a weeks leave due to injury, sir."

Trouble sighed again, harshly this time and he felt his skin prickle with severe irritation at his younger brother. After all Trouble had done, helping Grub with his promotion on the promise that he'd change his ways, he still was proving to be a coward when it came to living up to his job. And on top of that he was trying to take leave when the LEP was in chaos, and they needed every hand they could get. But instead of expressing these problems to the poor pixie, he instead asked the obvious, "And why did Captain Kelp choose to send you to me instead of sending a message through his communicator? I don't give those things out for people to just ignore them."

"Well sir, you see, that's part of the problem. All the communications have been blocked off for some reason sir. Nothing in or out. I was coupled with him to do our rounds of the chutes when there was a crash and we found a cavern toward the surface had collapsed, probably one of the old landing bays. When we realized the communications were out, he sent me to stay here while he kept an eye on the other rocks."

This bit of information piqued the commander's interest, and he suddenly was very concerned about what had happened in the chutes. Communication didn't just go out; Foaly had made sure of that after everything Opal had done. Now it was almost impossible to lose connection, regardless of magma flares or location.

"What chute were you patrolling?" he asked the pixie, ignoring any mutterings he heard about his brother.

"E18, Stonehenge, sir. And if I may say so, whatever it was, was big. Quite the crash it made, we heard it all the way down the chute, sir," Madill said, the pixie looked quite proud he'd gotten the commander's attention and had brought noteworthy news. He might've looked a little less smug if he'd known just what kind of news he was bringing.

Trouble studied the private for a moment before nodding and dismissing him, he'd address a possible promotion later, mostly for dealing with his brother's idiotic demands. After the pixie marched out looking happy with himself, Trouble opened a private com channel with Foaly.

"Foaly!" he barked, thinking to himself of how Root would be proud of him, "Why in the name of Frond has communication gone out with our Stonehenge chute? You told me yourself that the new system you set up was a fail safe. So now you better explain to me why it's failing."

"Why hello Trouble, I've missed you too. I'm glad you're having such a good day," the centaur muttered, "You want the truth? Something is creating a form of static on our com links to Stonehenge, it isn't failing, it's just being overloaded."

Trouble glared at the screen and Foaly sighed heavily, "Something, or someone more likely, has jumped our link to E18 and overloaded it with white noise on such a low frequency that no one would notice it unless they tried to patch through to Police Plaza from the chute. We've been tricked by somebody who obviously wanted a warning before being found."

Trouble rubbed at his temples rather angrily, "Could it be Koboi? The one from the past?"

"It's possible," mused the technician, "But highly unlikely. She still doesn't have the ability to adapt to all the new things I've thrown up since her time. Though her break-in at Atlantis Penitentiary was surprisingly successful, so who knows what she can do? I wouldn't rule out the option."

* * *

Opal from the past had surprised everyone in the LEP when she'd broken into Atlantis Pen to find and free her future self. They'd obviously expected a break-in of some sort, but what they hadn't anticipated was her reaction. Foaly had the entire thing on a hidden camera tape.

Upon arriving at her future cell, Opal opened the door to the solitary confinement chamber and found to her surprise a human instead of a pixie. The Opal from the past had tried to leave quietly, but was disrupted by her future human self. The human girl sat up, hair short but the same color, nails brittle and chipped, eyes weary; she looked at the small pixie version of herself and smiled darkly, thinking herself saved. But instead the tiny pixie was too vain for this, and she sneered ant the human she was to become, "I can't possibly be _you_. I'm so much prettier than that. Please tell that stupid centaur his ruse didn't fool me, as I'm sure my future beautiful self couldn't be contained for long; Let alone become a Mud Maid."

With that said, the tiny pixie Opal walked out the same way she'd come, locking up behind her. The future human one sat on the bed for the next several days, staring into a void from losing all hope. When Foaly looked it over again, it was only a deep hatred from the death of Julius Root that had kept him from feeling sorry for her.

* * *

"So what you're telling me Foaly is that we have a possibly unknown enemy here, and you had no idea your infallible system was being duped by a simple white noise frequency?"

Foaly was distressed on his end too, but he tried his best not to let it show. In truth, in order to hack an LEP channel and create the block would take much more time and effort than it sounded if it was to go undetected, and would be very near impossible should one want to go undetected with the security system Foaly had set up. But Foaly knew better than to bother Trouble with explaining these things to him and wasting precious time, so in the end he just nodded in slight shame.

The link was quiet for a moment, and Trouble weighed his options before asking, "If I send in Holly to investigate, will I regret it?"

Foaly took a moment to think as well, but he replied more sure of himself, "Holly is the best as far as field work goes, but her record does show a slight increase in the chance that something may go horribly and world threateningly wrong."

Trouble smiled, the two of them both knew about the Captain's various adventures and how they'd started out so simply and yet managed to change everything drastically. They assumed that if it had already happened that many times than it couldn't happen that many more times. They were wrong. Very wrong. Trouble unknowingly put himself on the list for many more difficult days the moment he hit the transfer button on his communicator.

…

Holly Short was studying herself in the mirror in the few moments before Commander Kelp called her, something she rarely ever did. It was odd staring at herself now though; she had changed after going through the time stream so many times. It was like her features had blended together with bits of her past, and now she felt unsure of her own age. If she had to guess, she'd say she was around her early seventies, which took ten years off her age. In a sense she supposed most people would envy her for, but she herself saw it as yet another thing she'd had forced on her.

As the beep of her LEP issue communicator went of, she caught herself with that cold blue eye as she turned and felt a shroud of guilt pass over her. Holly had been ignoring Artemis for weeks now, nursing a grudge that was growing old quickly.

"Hey Trouble," she said, banishing all thoughts of the Mud Boy, "What's wrong? If I may remind you, I am off duty right now."

Trouble smiled at her with some effort, and she could tell that recent events were weighing on him heavily. He looked as if he hadn't slept in days. "I know you're off duty Holly, but I need a favor. Something's exploded in the Stonehenge landing bay, which has been off duty for quite awhile now. Problem is, Grub's up there to stare at the rocks and Foaly had his communication system trumped. You're the only fairy I trust to fly there fast enough to get my brother and check everything out before someone gets whiff of this story."

This new partly surprised Holly, "Someone trumped Foaly's new system? I thought it was supposed to work no matter what. Foolproof, or something like that."

"Yeah, me too, but someone obviously was able to beat it enough that they'd have plenty of warning before anyone came to investigate. So, will you help me out Holly?"

Holly tossed around the idea in her head, knowing she'd accept it whether or not it was convenient for her. After toying with the idea for a minute she accepted, "Yeah _Trub_, of course I'll go. But I want Sunday off."

Recently she'd been forced to work seven days a week and the work amount was dragging her down with the constant search for the past Opal and any signs of a change in the timeline. Not that they'd know if there was one. Holly couldn't even imagine the hell Trouble was going through on a daily basis.

Trouble didn't even bother weighing options, though he did wince at the nickname, "Deal. Not get going, I'd say I have about another two hours before somebody leaks word to the press for some extra gold. Maybe less than that, so hurry and get Grub and get back. I'll send men later to perform a clean up of the area and a full look over of what happened."

Holly didn't need to be told twice.

* * *

Half an hour later she was ready to go with a shimmer suit and helmet donned, a pod docked, and Foaly's quirky voice in her ear. Strapping herself in and gunning up the small craft she questioned Foaly further about what had happened.

"So I'm going to take it that you got your systems over here working again from the fact that we're still talking," she remarked, thrusting upward and out of the dock, the feel of flying putting her in good spirits.

"Of course. Once I noticed the flaw I quickly flushed out the system and re-established contact as soon as I could. I still haven't gotten anything back from Grub though."

Holly frowned, knowing that more than likely the _Captain_ had fallen asleep at his post and was napping in his pod. Part of her envied him, and part of her was severely irritated at his lack of discipline, "You know Grub, he's probably napping on the job."

Foaly snorted, "That's more than likely the case, but be careful anyway Holly."

She smiled to herself, having heard the concern in her friend's voice, and agreed as she pulled herself up into the dusty area of a landing bay. Clouds and fog seemed to form out of dust, but she could see the other LEP pod a few yards away, with its hatch wide open.

"D'Arvit," she muttered, "Curse Grub."

She looked around the cavern, trying to filter out the dust as she glanced around, but Trouble was nowhere to be found. Sighing, Holly clambered out of her pod and sealed her helmet, taking precautions by slipping on a pair of Hummingbird wings.

She performed a quick scan of the rest of the surrounding areas and found an even less satisfying answer. Obviously something had caught Grub's interest and he had clambered through the wreckage to get to the other side of the room, where the majority of the landing space was.

Holly shielded and followed his clumsily made path through a hole and to the other side. Along the wall just to Holly's left sat Grub Kelp, Neutrino raised and hands shaking, though they were pointed at something other than Holly.

When he saw Holly unshield, relief echoed across his expression. But though he was facing Holly and beckoning her over to him, his Neutrino was pointed at an object still unclear in the heavy dust and debris.

Turning on the speakers in her helmet as she walked over to him, she heard Foaly's omniscient voice in her ear, "Something isn't right Holly."

Grub was so enthusiastic about greeting Holly that he almost hugged her, and his smiled looked to be enough to break his face. Holly had to ruin his good mood though, because the whole scene was drowned in a sense of unreality, "Captain Kelp, what made you draw your weapon? What's going on here?"

Grub's mood suddenly seemed to drain away at the mention of that, and his face went a bit pale. Holly saw that the hand holding the Neutrino was still shaking and his knuckles were white.

"Oh Holly, you wouldn't believe it, we landed to patrol for a few minutes, but then there was this awful earthquake and an explosion of some sort. So I sent Madill back when I couldn't patch a line down, and I had just gotten cozy when I saw this creature shuffling through the remains and over to this side. So even though my ankle hurt like crazy I got out and followed it, but I think it heard me because it started calling out. But then it rushed at me and I stunned it."

Holly listened halfheartedly. She knew Grub was being a drama queen and that a lot was destined to be exaggeration. But when he finished talking she nodded and got up, drawing her own gun and walking over to Grub's stunned victim. Waves of dust subsided as she got further from the ruined Landing bay, and she saw a huddle of a creature breathing slowly in unconsciousness. As she approached it, she took in everything she could about it, until she finally was where she could see its front.

"Oh Frond," Holly breathed. But what she saw wasn't even the half of it.

Foaly's surprisingly weak-sounding voice came through her ear, and despite the fact that what was in front of her defied everything she knew, she listened intently, "Holly, look up."

She did. And in front of her was the thing that had come from the earthquakes, a huge gaping hole in the middle of the bay, straight through solid granite. A hole bigger than any she'd ever seen before, and she was surprised it didn't reach the surface. Inside, it clicked, though she wished she didn't have to understand it. Not only was it a hole, but it was a testing site. Someone had a bomb, and they knew how to use it.

Hauling up the creature that defied her beliefs, Holly ran back to Grub, yelling for him to get into the pod and get them back to Haven. While he was distracted she pulled out her communicator that she shared with Artemis, and Foaly made no objections as she sent off the message.

* * *

**Holy hell that took forever, might I say. Though it is much longer than the last chapter, and way more interesting in my opinion. So now we're up to speed on what has happened on either side of this, though a lot more led up to this part. Man, now I'm tired, it's about 3:30 in the morning now. I've been typing since midnight. I'm trying my best to get this done since I got such fabulous reviews. Thanks to everyone who gave their support! I hope this holds up to what you expected from it and more. My notes: Minerva will come in eventually, though no time soon, and she does have a purpose. Trouble is and will continue to be a major part of this fic. I also understand what a Mary-Sue is and my OCs that will play a part will not be Mary-Sues. I promise. So please believe me on that fact. More soon, I hope I didn't disappoint!**

**~Tamdiu **


	4. Halfling

**A/N: Thanks so much to anyone who read and reviewed this story, it means so much to me and really encourages me to go on when I get such positive feedback! Kudos to you all! Here is my gift to you: Chapter Three! (Please read the bottom note for info on certain content later.)**

**Artemis Fowl: The Enigma Complex**

**Chapter Three**

**Halfling**

_The more original a discovery, the more obvious it seems afterward._ ~**Arthur Koestler**

* * *

**A Public Airport Terminal, Austria**

Angeline Fowl did not take kindly to Artemis leaving Austria in the middle of a family vacation. Her intentions had been for the entire family to stay and relax and escape their everyday routine that had taken hold of them. Artemis had to discuss the circumstances at length with her and present several core things to her before she let him go. But unfortunately his luck ended there.

Artemis scowled into hands and glanced around the hangar of the airport that he was waiting in. He was still rather seething from the impudence of the security guards and the rude looks he had received. Part of him was still in shock at the idea of his mother's punishment for him, having to take _public_ transportation. Thank god he had called a good friend of Butler's to arrange a pickup with a private jet, but he still had to deal with the herds of the general populace. Butler would've balked at the idea of his charge in such an open place unguarded.

All in all there were around twenty people total in the small airport, which was used to delayed flights and refills, but to Artemis it was more crowded than necessary. In his suit pocket his fairy communicator beep shrilly again, and he slid his hand in to silence it. Something was wrong, and now it was becoming fairly obvious.

Foaly knew about Angeline Fowl's knowledge and had promised to maintain a stature of respect toward her wishes on the behalf of the fairy folk, so for him to interrupt this trip must've meant something serious. Artemis knew his mother could be quite convincing, and Foaly had no other option than to listen. A mind wipe on Mrs. Fowl was not an option, Opal's memories were as good as burned into her mind, and attempting to remove them would result in a serious IQ dip and a return of her previous depression.

Artemis stood as they called the arrival of his private jet, and ignored the scathing looks the tourists gave him; he had more important things to worry about, like saving the world. But first, he needed to get back to Fowl Manor in one piece.

* * *

**Police Plaza, Haven City**

Belowground things were in a state of organized chaos. Foaly had effectively shut the city down, but now people wanted to know why. The LEP didn't know, and that was part of the problem.

Holly had commandeered the shuttle that Grub had taken up the chute and effectively managed to cram three fairies inside it, but upon her arrival the city had been put under a classified emergency shutdown.

In Police Plaza the situation was no better, though Holly gave up her hostage happily and went to give her report to Commander Kelp. All the while she tried contacting Artemis, vaguely distressed by the fact that he wasn't responding to her messages. _Whoever put off that bomb could've taken him hostage,_ she thought, but then shut herself up with a more rational point of view, _He can take care of himself._

Trouble sat behind his desk with his head between his hands, and Holly was shocked by the desperation in his look. "Please Holly, tell me Foaly's lying to me, tell me this whole thing will blow over," he said, his voice pleading.

Holly sighed, "I'm afraid I can't do that, sir. I can't lie to a superior officer."

"Not even a friend?" he asked quietly, but he knew no response would come, "Tell me what exactly is going on then please."

"Well, sir, Trouble, your brother could probably tell you more about what went on before my arrival, but when I went to investigate I found what would best be described as a crater, in the mantle, which was large enough to span all of Haven. It didn't register on any of Foaly's devices, but it's clearly a bomb. But on top of that we now have a prisoner, though we don't know how she relates to the situation at hand."

The commander sighed. A weariness had settled on him that he hoped no other fairy would have to deal with, and he could feel it increase as Holly told him all of this.

"And the prisoner? What of her?" he asked, wishing he didn't have to ask. He knew the words would affect everything before he even spoke them.

"You heard," replied Holly, an odd look running across her features, "It isn't something that I ever suspected would turn up, not in this day and age. But in case you didn't believe Foaly, he was right. It's a Halfling."

Her communicator went off, as if timed purposefully.

* * *

**A Private Jet, Somewhere over the South of France**

Artemis blinked at the screen, his hands clammy with his grasp of the small communicator. He'd been contacted roughly fifty times by the fairy people on various levels of importance and now Holly was back to not picking up?! Irritation flickered in his mind and then he realized the other alternative and felt himself go rigid with worry. He twisted the small communicator in his grasp and felt a surge of relief when Captain Short's familiar face crowded the screen.

As soon as she opened the screen though, she was all business; no time was spared for pleasantries, "Artemis, good. You should know it took over two hours to reach you, and we have a hostile situation belowground. Are you at Fowl Manor?"

"Hostile situation? What have you gotten yourself into? To answer you question, no, I'm not at the Manor, but I'm in a secure location. I'll be at the manor shortly. So please Holly, explain what's going on."

Holly sighed, and her harsh exterior melted away like butter exposing the friend Artemis had sorely missed, "I don't even know Arty. All I know is that Haven is under a direct threat of destruction and…"

Whatever she was going to say seemed difficult for her, and she sighed once more and looked at him through the screen, "Artemis, I never thought there would be a situation like this, but we have a hostage. It's human, or its file is. I need you to do some aboveground work for me, Haven is locked up tighter than Foaly's tinfoil hat collection."

Artemis felt a million question pounding against his self-restraint just begging to be asked, and it took him a good deal of his willpower to agree without asking any of them, but one thing slipped out before she could list off the target, "Holly, what exactly is this person's threat?"

Holly looked at him once more through the link and Artemis, knowing her better than anyone else ever could, promptly stopped asking questions. "I'll see you when you get here Artemis; it should be a nothing kind of task. I'd tell Trouble to send a private if it weren't for the chutes being shut down. It'll be hard enough getting you down here, let alone if you bring Butler.

Artemis nodded, it _was_ a nothing task. Go in; wipe out everything concerning the fairy people that couldn't be destroyed with a virus, and then leave. He and Butler had done more difficult things in their sleep. Figuratively speaking.

One thing Artemis didn't understand though, as he leaned back in his seat on the way to Ireland, was Holly and her attitude toward their hostage. Then again, he thought, I should know better than anyone how bad it feels. But he wasn't sure if the situations boiled down to the same thing, and he ultimately wanted know the situation he was getting himself into. He was Artemis Fowl the Second, and he didn't like being on the other side of a plan and being kept in the dark.

He also wasn't comfortable letting someone else fly a plane, but he couldn't help that right now. So he settled himself as best he could and began to do what he did the very best, which was plan. But as he planned and pieced together what he understood and had gleaned, he realized something else.

_Since when has Holly ever called something an 'it'?_

* * *

**Belowground, LEP Headquarters, Haven City**

The elf in question was, at the moment, going to speak with Foaly about that very 'it' herself. Not only was Haven at stake, but possibly the fairy race was too. Holly had dealt with the idea of exposure several times throughout her career, but it had never looked quite so innocent. And unfortunately the Book was very strict on how to treat one's fairy brethren.

The creature in question now lay in a sterile room far beyond human standards, covered in what looked to be long strips of duct tape. In actuality they were long adhesive strips of magic infused fibers that were monitoring the body's healing and functioning. The clean room was also set with a full channel to Foaly so he could keep an eye on the hostage himself. The People weren't used to holding humans against their will, and Halflings even less so seeing as they were all but extinct.

For those less savvy of the fairy world, ten thousand year before all of these events, humans and fairies alike had lived aboveground with one another. Before the humans began to overrun the Earth, they'd been quite fond to the occasional elf, despite being dumber than a sack of potatoes at the time. And so sometimes, though very rarely, a human and an elf would end up in love. This often ended up in broken hearted elves, especially after the loss of the human magic, but every hundred years or so a couple would manage to bear a child. After time, they were remembered simply as Halflings, and in the modern society were considered an impossibility.

Holly Short had grown up hearing of Mud Men being the bad guys, and the only ones she'd ever grown fond of had at one point been her enemies. And here, in her arms, had laid a near sacrilege being. It was needless to say that she was having difficulties excepting what she'd chanced across.

Foaly let Holly come in and had pulled up the image of the sleeping Halfling. Holly took everything about the girl in while she had the opportunity, the soldier in her saving it in case any of that information was needed later on.

"Okay Holly, first, our hostage," Foaly said, and she winced internally at the word, "She is approximately four foot tall, and if half-sprite, half-human. Identified as one Celes Button, born to New Zealand by a Mrs. Rissa Button. One brother, older, deceased. We assume pure human, no records to prove that though. Also, no marriage for the mother, just one day changed her name, we haven't got a clue why in the files. It says in the file that her mother died last month. That's it, there's nothing else on her, no school files, no work, nothing."

Holly nodded, she'd read all this in the files she had edited and sent Artemis about the girl's whereabouts. She calmly twiddled her thumbs and waited until the centaur got to the important bits.

"We can either assume the worst, which would be that she is just as smart as our young Artemis and plans to use another of those bombs to destroy Haven and expose us to the world; or we can assume the best for her sake and ours, and assume that she happened to fall through the defenses while I did diagnostics and had nothing to do with the whole bomb thing."

Once again Holly nodded, though none of that information was particularly useful to her, seeing as the council would make that decision. She did hope that he would get to the point eventually, and not go off into one of his tangents on his equipment. She silently thanked Frond that he chose not to.

"So I'll assume that you, like I was, are wondering how she is possible?" he asked, smiling at Holly, knowing just what she had been thinking.

Holly blushed slightly, but smiled and nodded, knowing it would get him to the point all that much faster.

"Well, I pulled a bit of information off a human sympathizer site and found out about some of the old stories about the days of Frond. Apparently, despite many beliefs against it, there are ways for humans to be with elves, though they never seem to end well. But in the Frond Dynasty it wasn't nearly as frowned upon. Some even had children, the facts of which are made solid on the screen before us."

"But how? I mean, I know _how_, but it's against everything in the Book, the council would have a field day! I didn't think it was possible anyway, I mean humans are so… tall," Holly spluttered, still unable to firmly believe what was right before her eyes. She rarely ever skipped through thoughts like this, but it was so out of place in her mind she couldn't form coherent thoughts due to the unfeasible things it suggested.

"Relax Holly, normally you'd be right, let me tell you that before you go getting any ideas about your Mud Boy and you," Foaly said, humor tingeing his serious tone. That was until Holly hit him, with everything in her tiny body. Suddenly Foaly found his screen on the girl very interesting.

"As I was saying, normally you'd be right, human and fairy children are pretty much impossible with all but three of the eight families. Elves, Pixies, and Sprites are the only fairies that are close enough on the evolutionary scale to find substantial love with a human. It's kind of like the whale and dolphin principles, you can put the two together, but only under very rare circumstances will they produce offspring. And on top of that, it would be painful for both mother and child during the ordeal; conflicting species, blood, and magic do not make for happy living."

Holly absorbed this information and looked gingerly at the screen, suddenly feeling bad for the poor girl in the picture.

"She's in pain, and a lot of it I might add. Her fairy blood doesn't take well with HGH, and her magic must have metastasized to a certain organ to preserve itself. By the looks of that eye I would bet anything on it being her ocular nerve."

Holly looked from Foaly to the screen, and once again examined the girl, taking in the features of her face; traditional fairy markings like the pointy cheekbones graced her features, but gave an alien look to her green-hued skin. Holly almost asked Foaly what he was talking about, but then she saw it. An eyelid, closed, but sunken in. Holly gasped, "Did she…?"

Foaly nodded. Holly blinked several times and suddenly wanted to speak with Artemis again, to find out what was so bad that this Mud Girl would cut her own eye out.

* * *

**Auckland, New Zealand**

Artemis had arrived at Fowl Manor while this conversation had taken place, gotten together a batch of equipment, convinced Butler to come with him, and boarded a jet to New Zealand in the time Holly learned about the nature of Halflings. Give or take a few minutes.

Now, virtually on the other side of the world from where he'd been just twelve hours ago, he sat looking out and admiring the Oceania coasts and the crisp New Zealand air rush at his back. Despite missing his home country, he still found New Zealand startlingly in second place for natural beauty.

He and Butler were now crammed into the back of a rental, and he'd been watching the sun set slowly toward his home. As soon as he gave the word to Butler that it was dark enough, they'd be off down the overlooking slope they'd perched upon and into one of the poorer suburban streets, ready to complete a break in.

He waved Butler the go signal as the sky turned another deepening shade of purple, and he felt anticipation build in his stomach. It may have been an amateur's job, but it was better than sitting in Austria doing nothing.

Drawing an omnitool he'd taken several years previously, he waited as their car parked in the driveway, to avoid too much suspicion. Act like your going home, Artemis thought.

Slowly he faced the door and hitched the lock, opening it and letting it swing open with ease. The stale scent of air that hadn't been moved in some time greeted his nose and Artemis listened for several moments to assure himself no one was there. He hadn't even taken a helmet with him, he was that sure of himself. He should've taken the extra precaution; it would've done more good than he'd known. As it was, he set out on a search and destroy pattern, already having evaluated the places he'd need to go in his head.

He didn't get very far though, as soon as he stepped into a small kitchen area, a hand shot out and grabbed him by the neck, pinning him to the side wall, and he felt the deadly sharp cold of a knife.

Artemis gasped for breath like a gaping fish, unready to be ripped from his life force. He struggled against the strong hand, and quietly preyed the movement he'd just seen had been Butler. But his hope evaporated into shock as the man before him spoke.

"_Where is my sister?" _the man said, his voice thick with mesmer. And as Artemis slumped into unconsciousness his mind reeled with the possibilities, knowing that the one with that voice couldn't possibly be a fairy.

* * *

**A/N: PLEASE DON'T KILL ME! I know this chapter is OOC and that my new people probably seem like Mary-Sue's or something, but they're just part of the plot! I have a plan. I just hope you don't hate me for it, or them. Also, another warning, the rating of this may get bumped to T, and on top of that there will be a character death. I hope not too many of you will stop reading because of these things, but I understand if you do. I love everyone who supports this! You guys rock! **

**~Tamdiu**

**P.S. I'm getting a beta reader, so hopefully that might improve things!**


	5. Button Twins

**AN: Thanks so much to everyone who has read this! Especially my reviewers! This has become my most reviewed fic! So now this story is now my only project, I've put everything on hold other than Tokka week next week, and I'll be working on this too. For anyone who reads Avatar fanfics, I'll be starting a new fic for it soon, and I'll give spoilers to anyone who wants to collaborate with me on it. Or my next AF fanfic, I've already got plot bunnies for it. As for the OCs I'm incorporating in this story: I'm not going to have a super genius come in and steal Artemis's spotlight, but they play a big-ish role. Arty is still my love though, so no worries, okay? Also, I am so sorry about any rushing and lateness, we had a power outage, and I haven't been online in days, and I'm so tired I don't know if my writing will be any good… But an update is an update… not a long chapter though. **

**Artemis Fowl: The Enigma Complex**

**Chapter Four**

**Button Twin**

_To win without risk is to triumph without glory. _**~Pierre Corneille**

* * *

Artemis Fowl rarely had tea with people who had tried to attack him in the past twenty-four hours, let alone in the past two. Butler, in most cases, would promptly have forbidden it under the statute that it was a generally bad idea, but he'd been a bodyguard to Artemis for a long time. But then again, this wasn't most cases anyway.

Artemis picked up the almost empty cup of hot tea and shifted himself in a rather uncomfortable wooden chair, feeling rather trapped by the small clutter of the house. His attacker busied himself apologizing and letting off a stream of excuses, and all the while Artemis pondered on the true meaning of this individual.

At this point though, some explanation probably is needed. After being forced into an air deprived unconsciousness, Artemis was saved from a rather nasty scar by Butler who had come in through the back to scope the property. Strangely enough, all the poor boy needed was a good scare from the bodyguard to shock him out of his actions. Upon hearing the deep and foreboding voice of the bodyguard, and quailing in wake of his mass, the guy had dropped Artemis hard enough to rouse him and began spouting off different apologies like his life depended on it. To do the boy justice, in his mind his life did depend on it.

So now, thirty minutes later, Artemis was waiting on another brew of tea and had hardly gotten anything out of his would-be murderer other than a sorry. Needless to say, the boy genius was growing rather impatient.

Butler cleared his throat as menacingly as he could manage at his charges pert look, and their 'host' suddenly seemed to get the point. Grabbing a kettle off the stove he set it down murmuring a last few apologies, and then looked his would-have-been victim right in the eyes. Blinking, Artemis began slowly, "We have come on behalf of higher authorities, we've been given the task of finding and destroying any materials deemed harmful. We were given a complete report on the owner of this house, and you were not to be found in it. So my first question is simple, who are you?"

The boy (though that is a rough description of him) shrugged in a rather vulgar statement of his opinion, "I don't know why you wouldn't have gotten anything on me, I'm the one whose name is on the contract to the house, and my sister is a dependent. My name is James Button, though I hardly believe any introductions are necessary for a famous boy like you Artemis Fowl."

Artemis smirked, he was becoming too well known these days, he would have to do some background hacking on himself. But he turned his attention back to the matters at hand, "Mr. Button, I'm afraid we received none of this information on you, and I currently am unaware of your sister's condition. I just know that we were assigned to come perform a search and I was nearly killed in the process."

Butler sighed stiffly, feeling his age weighing upon him, typical Artemis; banter on with the opposing party until something interesting happened. His bodyguard instincts were hounding on his brain that something bigger was going on here, but he could do nothing about it yet.

James continued to look at Artemis, shame tingeing his darkened skin. Rubbing lightly calloused hands through his hair, the boy replied, "I had no idea what I was doing; it was like waking out of a dream or a nightmare, and everything is all hazy since I got that phone call a few days ago. Something about people coming for my sister's things."

Artemis felt a sudden eagerness rush through him, as though he were a mind given a new puzzle to ponder. And so it was, he had a plot coming together, and the poor boy had been mesmerized through it all. But Artemis frowned again; Mesmer could not be channeled through people as far as he knew, and so that left a pile of unanswered questions as well. Artemis shoved those thoughts down, questions could come later, but some things had to be taken care of first.

"So we may proceed with the search?" Artemis asked, ready to leave the oppressive and caving little home that presented itself around him. James nodded and Artemis waved Butler off, entrusting him and his ever-watching eyes to find anything they may be looking for. Artemis kept his attention on their host, "What was it you said you did again?"

"I'm a columnist for the local paper and I have a foreign countries special on the local news, I'm pretty popular with older women and groups around the island."

Artemis pulled out his handheld computer out of his pocket, and typed in some tidbits of information. He looked up into the quizzical eyes of his host and found himself somewhat met in those eyes, not in intelligence, but daring. Glancing down at his computer screen he almost was shocked. Almost. But Artemis had been somewhat prepared for anything, and he managed to keep his voice relatively even as he said, "I'm sorry to tell you this Mr. Button, but you don't exist. Or rather, you're supposed to be dead."

* * *

At this point, those who don't know about the two individuals in question, I'm sure you would like to understand. The nature of Halflings is to not have anyone know you are one, so naturally they tended to live with the less observant of their species. Occasionally the interbreeding is so immense that people have no choice but to accept the extra species under a different name altogether. This never happened with fairies and humans.

So naturally, when Pico Button fell in love with a human, he never spoke of it, or risk losing all ability to go topside. For a Sprite, losing that was like losing a wing, it was almost unbearable. He mesmerized her to never mention him, and felt so bad about it that he left her and forced himself never to see her again. He never knew that he had children with her, or that they managed to survive a painful birth. So Celes and James Button were born as one of the rarest twins of all, Halflings.

* * *

Foaly lifted his head from his subject to look on the screen opposite him, blinking slightly from the contrast in brightness. He had strapped his Reti-Mager (AN: Spelling?) to the Halfling girl's head and was flicking through a general database of things one might associate with fairies and the People as well as anything dealing with bombs, but so far everything had come up completely negative.

Trotting back to his workstation he let in the gnome medic, one of his new apprentices in the field of police technology, and one of the only ones that knew about the girl's existence. They'd so far healed any excess trauma and scarring done, but she was comatose at the moment, her neural scans showing various migraines and brain activity, but he couldn't bring her out of it with technology unless an emergency arose. Somehow Foaly found that going through a few thousand eye scans a day was not going to help anyone's position, certainly not his.

That was until Commander Trouble Kelp came knocking on his booth door, demanding to be let in, which Foaly gladly obliged to do. The Commander looked exhausted and rather winded, but he stood tall and allowed himself to be heard well, "Foaly, how's the captive? Has she woken up yet?"

"Not yet Trouble, as of yet we've just been doing routine eye-scans. Why?"

Trouble sighed heavily; his work catching up with him as he felt what must have been Julius Root's stress flowing into him. "We just got a patch in from Artemis, he was retrieving the information for us topside but he ran into some trouble. We're going to need information from that girl if we're going to proceed any further with investigations. I already issued Holly a special visa to go and get Artemis, but we need as much information as we can get as soon as we can get it. Can you handle that Foaly?"

Foaly whinnied in anticipation of getting to test a new invention and stamped his hooves in centaurian agreement, "I have just what you need commander, and it's about time I got to test it out! We won't even have to pull her out of her coma for this one."

Trouble chuckled and groaned at the same time, knowing full and well how Foaly got in one of his moods, and partly knowing he'd brought it upon himself. Deep in the recesses of his mind he wondered if he would ever have a peaceful day again.

* * *

**Okay, I know it's shorter than the last few have been, but I've been really stressed and busy with the power outage and the snow and my work. And on top of all of that is my pinnacle of a social life. I still can't feel my legs from the party I went to. So anyway, I'm sorry this is late in coming, and I hope you don't mind this filler chapter and its boringness, but let me give you fair warning: CHARACTER DEATH AHEAD. And it'll probably be sad too, obviously. In the next chapter or two it'll com up, okay? So be prepared. I love you all, and thanks to everyone who has reviewed and faved and alerted this, I love you guys!**

**~Tamdiu**


	6. Catching and Falling

**AN: Thanks so much to everyone who's reviewed, I'm so glad I've kept you all as fans and I hope you stick with this through the end, which I've just recently worked out. Sort of. This chapter will be much longer than the last in order to make up for everything I'm going to put you through in it. I hope you enjoy, and feel free to recommend this story or whatnot, I don't demand reviewers, but I do work best with lots of encouragement. That's just a hint for you though… And anyway, on with the story!**

**Artemis Fowl: The Enigma Complex**

**Chapter Five **

**Catching and Falling**

_Must not all things at the last be swallowed up in death?_** ~Plato**

* * *

**New Zealand**

Artemis stepped on board a rather posh private jet and looked around before finally deciding on approval and moving to sit in one of the soft leather chairs. The boy, James, could hardly withhold his enthusiasm at flying first class in a private jet. He was still in shock of his situation, true, but he was the type of person to be enthralled by the moment rather that the overall picture, making him a rather poor plotter or planner.

Artemis found himself observing him, wondering what was so off about the boy other than his rough pupils and sick pallor. He had used the fairy Mesmer, true enough, but there was something about the older child Artemis couldn't place, which was an odd thing indeed. Perhaps it was how young his face looked for his tall build? No, but it was indeed strange, and Artemis filed it away to ask later after he got all his information from Holly and Foaly.

James himself was a rather cheery boy and, though Artemis did not know it, he was much older than he looked. Boyish blonde curls strung across his face and cast him anywhere from thirteen to eighteen in age, his height leaning toward the younger. He was small in all human standards, only a measly 5'1" at full height, but compared to his sister's 3'4" he was a relative giant. And thus Artemis concluded without realizing it, that this blonde and appeasing boy reminded him very much of his younger brother Beckett.

Sitting back to enjoy a long flight in the overdone interior of the jet, Artemis leaned back and began to think, waiting for a good plan to snake its way through his head. Within only three minutes of this brilliant relaxation he was interrupted, but not by James as he had expected, but by the ferocious blaring of the alarm.

* * *

**Tara, Ireland: Landing Bay**

Holly stepped forward onto the Tara landing bay and was rushed to be greeted by a stony silence. Something in her automatically told her to run when she heard none of the usual business of an aboveground terminal as popular as Tara. That was the part of her she beat down.

Something was wrong, and now she had her proof, some hundred or more travelers had now disappeared. Her boots even made a slight echo on the bedrock floor. She tried to patch through to Foaly and instead found static waiting for her, the same kind that had occurred at Stonehenge. He was probably busy experimenting on the new discovery anyway, Holly told herself over and over, trying not to think about what lay ahead of her. She suddenly felt very weary and alone.

Her mind seemed to be consumed with all the darkness around her and Holly couldn't help but wonder what happened to all the people. As if in an effort to answer her question, the bay's announcement board flickered to life behind her and she made a mental note within herself to buy a tinfoil hat from Foaly.

Dark red lights pulsed through the dark and pierced it like a sword, relentlessly beaming through. Holly squinted up her eyes to see it all properly, 'HELLO CAPTAIN SHORT.'

The lights pulsed back and forth from darkness to fire red and back again, so she found that she was dizzy from shock and the amount of light flashing. Paranoia got the best of her and she even stepped back as she looked around. 'WHAT'S WRONG? AFRAID ALREADY?'

Holly gave an involuntary shiver, but she had no idea how to handle a situation of this nature, and as her hesitation mounted within her the board replaced itself once again.

'THAT'S A SHAME CAPTAIN, I HAVEN'T EVEN GOTTEN TO THE SCARY PART YET. THERE IS MUCH MORE GOING ON THEN YOU REALIZED SHORT. WHAT IF I TOLD YOU THAT YOU ONLY HAD FIVE MINUTES LEFT TO LIVE? YOU DON'T WANT TO WASTE PRECIOUS TIME BEING AFRAID, DO YOU?'

Holly's eyes darted around the dark chamber, a cold fear seeping into her small body, all judgment and ideas of controlling the situation completely. The fact that it was a board telling her this and not an ego-maniacal villain did nothing for her disposition. She bolted toward the far end of the dark cavern and swooped around with her Hummingbirds, her sight catching on a spot on blue in the eerie clash of red darkness.

As she approached the blue it formed from a spot into legible numbers and began to flicker, and Holly recognized a countdown on its small face. She was surprised at the bomb, which was altogether the size of her fist; but nothing in her mind doubted that it was indeed the same as the one that had blown apart underground Stonehenge.

'YES CAPTAIN, THAT'S RIGHT,' the screen flashed like that for several moments until it had Holly's full attention again, obviously whoever was behind it was watching her through a small camera, not that she cared at this point, 'IN A FEW MOMENTS YOU WILL DIE A DEATH SO AGONIZING THAT EVEN YOUR PRECIOUS COMMANDER ROOT WOULD BE PROUD.'

The letters danced and taunted her, waking up her misery and self-doubt along with a deep sated anger. But she doubted that that anger would do her much good, so she forced herself to calm down and try to focus. The message board once again flashed more information.

'IT'S A PITY YOU SHOULD HAVE TO BE THE FIRST TO DIE ALONE, BUT YOU WILL BE JOINED SHORTLY BY THE MUD BOY AND HIS COMPANIONS. TOO BAD YOU CAN'T SAVE YOURSELF OR HIM. GOOD LUCK CAPTAIN SHORT, YOU'LL NEED IT. YOU HAVE THREE MINUTES.'

The light and buzz of the screen flickered off to leave Holly in the darkness, and she felt utterly alone despite being watched. Left in the afterglow of the blue numbers she glanced down at the tiny bomb in her hands and watched it flicker toward her doom.

* * *

**Somewhere Over the Southern Ocean (Or Antarctic Ocean)**

Artemis Fowl did not panic when presented with a problem; instead he looked it over from the most rational point of view. Now he was presented a problem that was a life or death situation and was turning out to be very difficult to handle.

He had handled outsmarting fairy technology before, but normally it had been under much more peaceful terms than this. And now, Artemis was stuck at twenty thousand feet and lowering on a plane he was unfamiliar with, an unconscious pilot, and a fairy heat seeker following them to a surely fiery death. He had defiantly taken his working situation for granted.

In the state of things, the loud warning peals of the alarm sounding through the passenger area were keeping him from meditative thought, so he did what he could and went with the best available option to him, not knowing it would cost him dearly.

Artemis threw himself into the cockpit to find the pilot had now gracefully landed on the floor and was snoring like a stuffy pig. Clambering over him Artemis allowed his hands to assume their positions and guide the plane toward the icy water and silently hoping that his plan to throw off the heat sensors with the frigid temperatures. He called back orders to Butler, but even he was unsure they made it to the bodyguard though the wind forces.

The ocean came to meet the plane solidly through a veil of mist and Artemis had no time to pull up, his control lost with the huge quantities of turbulence. The plane crashed heavily into the dark abyss and Artemis had no time to see if his plan worked or not before the impact shook him unconscious.

* * *

Butler was not a man who needed to be told many things twice, and though Artemis's words were lost in the din of wind and metal vibration, Butler could read the young master's lips as he turned to Butler in the frenzy and commotion. _Brace for impact._

That order alerted Butler to the urgency of the situation, if he hadn't already known beforehand. So Butler followed the youth's orders and grabbed the other boy by the collar, snatching him into a bear hug and running toward Artemis, only a few meters away when the ocean met the jet with a fierce rebellion.

The entire structure crumpled around them and sheer force of will and decades of training were the only things that kept Butler from fading into unconsciousness as ice swirled around him and the jet ceased to exist. The Jet slowly began to sink into the depths and Butler could no longer tell if he had Artemis in his hand or not as he pushed his way through a gap in metal.

He tossed the boy onto an extra floating piece above, gasping for air in his compressed lungs, already damaged by Kevlar. Almost instantly he realized that he had the other boy, James, and not Artemis, and he cursed himself for not retrieving him before. Butler threw the boy across the floating bay door and gulped in a last rush of air before diving down after his small charge, knowing full and well what it would cost him in the end.

* * *

**Landing Bay, Chute E1, Tara**

Holly looked down at the small blue numbers ticking downward in her hands, a sense of dread somewhat overtook her. But a glimmer of hope shone behind that dread. She remembered something Mulch Diggums had told her once about Tara.

'_The wonderful thing about Tara is that, even when they seal off the chutes, the dwarves still have their way in. A thick line of delicious clay up on the roof of the landing bay. Perfect place for a hiding spot.'_

Holly sighed, remembering Mulch, hoping that it wasn't just another of his exaggerated tales of escapes from her old commander, Julius Root. But in exactly fifty-two seconds she would find out exactly how much truth her friend had told, at least if the bomb had the same range as the other had.

Throwing the bomb with all the might in her tiny body, she put on a number of theatrics for whoever it was that was watching, though it had Opal's stink all over it. Preserving her self dignity, just in case it was her final moments, she shoved her helmet over her head and sealed it.

In her mind's eye she'd been keeping count, and with an extreme tension she bent her knees slightly and prepared for impact. Readying her wings, she heard a small and shrill beep registering that the timer was done, and in what was a very tumultuous three seconds, the world exploded around her.

After several long and dark moments of silence, she realized that she was indeed alive, and in an even darker than before dwarf cave. But the idea of that didn't bother her quite so much now; instead her head was filled with a need to save Artemis. She made her way through the loamy mud and ignored anything she came across as she dug her way out of her grave.

* * *

**The Antarctic Ocean**

Artemis was amazed he was alive, let alone awake. He could barely feel anything though; every part of him was dangerously numb with the cold. He also vaguely realized that he was being carried to a floating piece of the hull by Butler, but he was unaware of anything really beyond that.

Butler swam with great strokes, pushing them closer to the float with the last expels if his energy, and as he reached the glaring white metal, gleaming in the sun, he threw down his charge. Artemis had gone from the weight of a pin to the weight if an anchor as Butler had dragged him from the plane and a watery death.

Artemis lay unmoving for a moment, his only fascination being how wonderful the air felt in his lungs. Then he noticed something unusual, Butler was barely griping him, and he had relinquished his hold on the float.

"Butler," Artemis began, his own weak and thin voice rather surprising to him, "What's wrong, climb on, we have to signal out a distress call. If we are to escape the cold alive we must get help immediately."

Butler smiled, but just shook his head, "Artemis, were I to get on there or anything else floating, I would surely sink it and in turn, kill you. No Artemis, I am afraid that I have spent the last of my strength rescuing you. But that is what a bodyguard does."

Artemis could tell from the tone of his voice that he didn't like what the guard meant by this, "Stop this nonsense Butler, you're just fine. Get up here this instant, we can't be wasting time with sentiment like this."

Butler chuckled, "Same old Master Artemis. I am done Artemis, consider this my last job for you, I am already feeling dizzy from the inability to breathe. Please Artemis, do not let me die in vain, save yourself, find out what you must for the People. You've grown up under my care, don't waste it. Tell Juliet goodbye for me."

The bodyguard, who was never one for many words, trailed off; his eyes grew distant with his speech, as if some far off goal had come into sight. Artemis recognized it and clawed at the giant's hand with numb weakness, protests falling limply from his mouth, the cold piercing into his mind and toying with it.

Butler smiled at Artemis once more, and gave a weak pat to the boy's shoulder as he let go of the floating door, "Goodbye Artemis, my regards to Holly and the People. I have no regrets."

And with that, he gave up his lifelong struggle of clinging to life itself, and the man of giant proportions and few words fell into the icy abyss, having used all his energy to save Artemis Fowl one last time. As he faded into the inky, frozen depths, a smile graced his features, a peace he'd never known before settling upon him.

* * *

Artemis stared at where Butler had been, disbelief marching through his mind. He must still be unconscious, or he must've died in the plane crash, for he'd never know Domovoi Butler to just give up. On anything.

His hand rested where Butler's had been and the Halfling went ignored beside him, his mind too full of the impossibilities to recognize anything else. Even as his world faded to black, all his thoughts were on his manservant's last moments and how unreal they were. And even while he fell into that blackness pressing the fairy communicator, it was a subconscious thing, and he had little doubt he would soon follow in Butler's wake. Who could possibly save him now?

* * *

**AN: Alright, so there we have it… I don't know if I like it, and I may go back and rewrite it when I have more time, but for the moment, voila. I know Butler went a bit OOC at the end, but who wouldn't in cold that fierce and knowing you're going to die. I think that's the whole point of this chapter. Sorry again to all my A/H fans out there, I promise I have some fluff to lighten the angst up soon, probably next chapter when Artemis and Holly team up again. So yes, sorry if it sucked, I love you all though!**

**~Tamdiu**


	7. Problems Between Enemies

**AN: Oh my! I haven't updated in a while, sorry guys! I have been rotting away with a case of strep and a chest cold, so forgive me please! If it makes you feel any better, my muse has returned to me, and I am forcing her to read the Artemis series so she can help. Which means this may get much more interesting. Anyway, a fact that may disconcert you, I have NO idea where I'm going with this chapter… On with it then!**

**Artemis Fowl: The Enigma Complex**

**Chapter Six**

**Problems between Enemies**

_We often give our enimies the means of our own destruction._**~Aesop**

* * *

Holly Short hated situations like this, where something went wrong and she had absolutely no other help besides Artemis to fix it all. Not that Artemis was a bad person to be stuck with in a crisis, but she could've hoped for a bit more. Holly zoomed over the oceans, the chemical tracker Foaly had him set up with blinked in the corner of her helmet map. For someone in a jet he hadn't moved much in quite a while. That was what worried her the most.

She sped up as fast as the Hummingbird wings would take her across the slate gray expanse of ocean, wishing she could make it faster. Silently, as if Artemis could hear her, she called out for him to stay alive. She almost wished she was desperate enough to answer herself back, but more than anything, she focused on the blue pulsing dot in her visor.

* * *

Celes Button opened her eyes blearily and felt her corneas receive stabs from the amount of light being filtered through the room. Scrunching up her face, she felt something hairy grab her arm and sit her up rather roughly, muttering in a foreign language under their breath.

Blinking away the spots that swam through her vision, she opened her wide little eyes and found a rather odd sight before her. A little man, almost as tall as her, stood before her and was observing her with crisp blue eyes. Celes looked him in the eyes and he said something with such strain she could tell it was cursing in whatever language they spoke. His blue eyes widened and suddenly he began saying something quickly in the odd tongue.

She blinked and looked around, finding another similar size creature shuffling awkwardly on four hooves. She looked between either of them, a mix of panic and shock, and suddenly felt herself get woozy. Then she saw the little horse-creature shuffle once more and pull his hand away, mumbling to the short human figure in front of her.

Dark threads pulled at her consciousness, and she was relieved to go back to sleep before the pain registered. She figured it must be another odd little dream, she hadn't made it to the fairies yet, or so she thought. As she faded into a deep sleep full of odd and even more lucid figures, she heard them speck without knowing she understood it, "Definitely have to keep her under, too much pain."

What about the pain? She thought to herself, but she had no more control of her body than a specter to a mountain. She'd grown used to the pain she was born with for years, just like she'd grown used to a single eye. It didn't matter at this point anyway.

* * *

Holly hated the cold, just like most other relatively sane fairies; she despised it and the way it clawed at her skin. But something more important was at hand and for Artemis to die now after her ignoring him for several months was not how she chose to let the day go about.

She had been flying for hours now, and now she felt tired from the exertion of keeping in the air and vibrating at high speeds. But as long as there was distance between her and that blue dot she made sure to keep herself vigil and maintain her focus on the mission at hand.

She flew in a straight line, and at this point in her journey it didn't really matter if it was against regulations or not, she didn't have time to bother with flight patterns or any other kinds of rules that she was in clear violation of.

As she approached the Polar Regions she wondered what kind of plane would fly down toward such foreboding temperatures, and then a few facts hit her all at once. The entire journey to New Zealand must have been a trap, set up by whoever had deposited the girl at the bomb site. She felt a shiver run her spine and realized the jet ride there and back could've just as easily been plotted and executed. In more ways than one.

A thin scrape of metal caught her eye and on it were two pale and wraith-like figures. Holly frowned, wondering why there were two teenaged boys rather than a mountain and its pale companion, but she shot toward them fast enough to erase leftover concern from her mind. Questions could come later, when she had them safe and warm.

* * *

Holly felt Artemis and immediately drew back her hand, he was colder than the air around them and his lips were a purple tint. His breathing was shallow and ragged, and she could see frost forming in his hair. In all her life she'd only seen one other person quite so dead, and that had been Butler in the cryogenics unit.

Reaching out again she realized that he must've been in the water, because the other boy, whom she did not recognize, was in much better condition. It that was the case, she knew he would've been unable to rescue himself, which meant…

Holly made a point to get rid of the thought process behind that and continue sizing up the damage of Artemis. Softly, she laid her hands on his chest and pushed all the magic she could into Artemis, as well as a general good hope that he'd survive.

* * *

Opal Koboi, from the present, sat in a dank and smelly cell and felt the eyes of the other prisoners on her as they shuffled past her in her solitary confinement and looked in on the insane one. She had tried going into another coma, but unfortunately she could not achieve the amount of peace and serenity needed, let alone muster the concentration.

So when she had been given the glimmer of hope necessary to her survival in her rather lowly prison life, it had been snatched away by the very person she had had complete faith in, herself.

So after that little incident, she went a little beyond insane, and her roommate had reported her for good marks. So now she sat in solitary confinement in a moldy old straight jacket, alone almost all day, every day, and free at last to think and just that.

So she sat an plotted, and she realized that now she wanted to get back at herself, and in her now backwards logic she couldn't see the fault in that very reasoning. So slowly she shimmied herself up and began to pace, ignoring the stares from the door, her voice already cracked and strained from hours spent screaming at them how it was bad for her skin.

Soon, she decided, the time would arise when Foaly and all those others she had come to hate so much would come to her in desperate need for her to help them defeat herself. And thusly, she decided, she would help them do this very thing, it not raise the profit in it for her. A chuckle, broken and bitter, rose through her throat. Oh yes, Opal Koboi planned to make everyone pay, even herself.

* * *

**AN: I'm sorry, it's icky and short, and the only part I actually like is the last bit with Opal, which is why I wrote this whole chapter and such, so basically it's a little revelation to the plot twist and overall idea of the villain and Opal herself, who is also the villain. I have a general idea of where things go from here though, which is good, and also means the chapters will be picking up soon. As for my reviewers, thanks again, I fixed the spelling errors I had brought to my attention, and I hope you don't hate me for another chapter of absolutely meaningless plot. I promise it'll be ten times as good next chapter as long as my AH lovers don't burn me at the stake with my muse. I hate being sick…**

***grumbles* Tamdiu, out.**


	8. The Cold Move

**A/N: To help make things better, I'm going to try and make this chapter longer than the last one, which puts me in a bit of a pickle since I'm suffering major writers block due to having to droll out filler plot. *Gulps* So, yeah. I do plan on throwing my A/H fans a chunk of fluffish-ness, or as fluffish as you can get after an event like death. Forgive if Artemis goes a bit angsty in little bits for the next few chapters. My idea is that he'd revert a bit back to his old self after losing Butler. (And to my dear anonymous reviewer, though I love reviews, I cannot change something once it's been decided, let alone written. I apologize for killing Butler in such a manner that you didn't like it, but I'm not going to change something I've already posted. In my mind it is how the story works, and will continue to work.) So yes, Butler is, and will be dead for the rest of this. I doubt I'll do a sequel, but you never know. Anyway, more blather at the end, sorry for not doing review replies. On with Chapter Seven! **

**Artemis Fowl: The Enigma Complex**

**Chapter Seven**

**The Cold Move**

* * *

Artemis was cold, but Holly felt him breathing shallowly under the icy layer that was his skin. Her hands were numb and she cursed under her breath as the cold air ripped at her insides. She was disturbed that Butler was nowhere to be found, but she realized getting Artemis to safety was more important than anything, and most likely the other boy too. She strapped them onto her Moonbelt and flew off, not even able to get hold of the camfoil in the wretched weather. She'd take her chances with Trouble later, but Artemis came first at the moment. Holly prayed that no one would see two boys flying over the Antarctic in the middle of the night, let alone when they got to Africa. She sighed, ready to doom the world once again.

* * *

Foaly had not been paying much attention to Holly since she began her journey to Artemis for various reasons; mainly that she was an accomplished LEP officer and could take care of herself in the field. The other reason was because he'd spent the last several hours working out the kinks in his prototype project that he planned on initiating with the Halfling girl. Not that trying to make contact with Holly would do him any good, he wasn't yet aware that he'd lost all communication outside Haven on the com links.

He'd finished propping the last panel on the ceiling as Trouble came in, ready for the little feat in history as well as the story behind what was going on. They didn't bother with the formalities, nor did Foaly go into the normal rambling speech on his Sleeper Deeper technology and how he'd transformed it.

Today it was quiet, none of Foaly's new lackeys hanging around to observe, no Council to interfere, only Trouble, Foaly, and a girl that wasn't supposed to exist. Foaly whinnied lightly as he flicked on the screens above and below them, and the each flashed a brilliant blue to show its power up, and the room filled with a pleasant humming noise.

Trouble cleared his throat and Foaly had to stop short of his own praise, causing him to huff a little as he trotted over to the table with the Halfling girl and began to prep the machinery. Setting up the monitor pads on her head, Foaly checked each one to make sure it was getting a signal. He set up the girl's heart to another device that had long been perfected by the fairies and would save her life should any problems arise in the program. Though Foaly doubted anything could go wrong, he'd come up with the entire thing himself.

Double checking everything, he waited a moment to be sure the Sleeper Deeper was doing its job before typing a command into the room computer. Slowly the floor began to vibrate gently beneath them and Foaly swore silently that he'd go and strengthen all the power circuits if they didn't give out on him now. Beside him Trouble was looking back and forth between Foaly, the girl, and the floor, and Foaly almost laughed in spite of the situation.

He began to chortle, but then he caught Trouble's glare and forced himself back to the tension that crammed within every space of the room. This was it; his hit or miss moment in the development of his plans, as well as the development of the threat to Haven and the fairy way of life.

He punched in his code to the room computer for double confirmation, and then he punched in the last code and the room grew even brighter with the glare and the refraction from the power cells. The lights began to flicker from the overload, which in itself was a rare occurrence in his technology. Panic rose in him, but he suppressed it, eager to wait and see if his new invention worked.

Pain flashed across the girl's face, and Foaly hoped silently that he wouldn't literally fry her brain in this experiment. After the lights went even at a dull pulse of blue, he stared at the middle power cell and waited, after a minute a thin female voice rang through the room, "Voice confirmation needed."

"Foaly, inventor," Foaly replied, and as he said it the girl appeared on the power cell, a perfect replica of the Halfling on the bed. Now that he knew his holo-room worked, he had to make sure the girl was actually alive rather than so much brain consommé.

"Can you hear me?" Foaly called out, his own voice startling him with the gruffness in such a climactic moment. For a moment there was no change, the girl was limp in real life as well as hologram, and her vitals held though her brain was on the verge of too much activity.

The slowly, in a more channeled and grainy voice, came a reply, "Why can't I feel anything? Where am I?"

Next to Foaly, Trouble jumped a little in shock, but altogether he had a thrill in his eyes like a cat finding a new way to the mouse. Foaly felt sorry for whoever had created the bombs; because at that moment he knew that Trouble meant every move from then on out very seriously.

* * *

Artemis groaned, the sound ripping its way through his mouth like a corpse crying out from the grave. The main reason was because he was in pain, even if his body couldn't register it yet. But before the pain he remembered the unholy cold of the Arctic sea and air and wondered briefly why he was once again, still alive.

His answer didn't take very long to show up; Holly was over him in a flash, a warm spot in his cold half-sleep. She asked him a flurry of questions that he knew he couldn't answer and took part in various means to try and snap him out of his zombie state. Finally, after much obvious consideration, however biased, she punched him hard across the face.

That woke him up, and he gave her a long incredulous look as he wiped his mouth, the words 'How dare you' dying on his lips. Holly was in front of him, and he was alive, his cold and sluggish genius mind put the two together after a moment and he noticed her tired and ragged look.

"What happened?" he asked, his jaw still buzzing from the feel of the hard fist across his face. He was bleeding now from a cracked and much damaged lip, and he had a feeling the cold extremes he'd felt were not just a dream. His mind still hadn't caught up to its full potential, but the need for understanding had come back to him.

Holly breathed a sigh of relief that she had been holding in for hours now while her healing took place. Wrapping her small fairy arms around what she could of his torso, she smiled and replied, "Good to have you back Artemis, I almost thought you were a goner."

Artemis blinked and felt rather awkward in the embrace, but returned it as best he could in his slow and jumbled state. He hated how bent up he still felt about the events that had passed between them, and it felt good to have her forgiveness after such an amount of time. But unfortunately, his mind caught up with him, and he became observant of where he was, and the hovel didn't look very accommodating.

In the corner, a figure lay huddled on the floor covered with a ratty blanket, and he recognized the boy as the same one from New Zealand, and the plane crash flooded his memory once more. Slowly he pushed Holly away and looked down into her eyes, "Where is Butler?"

Holly stared at him, the color fading from her face as a horrifyingly understanding look came into her eyes, "He wasn't around the wreck, and I thought he must've been back in Ireland…"

The truth dawned over them both not even a minute later, and for the second time in his young life, Holly saw Artemis Fowl the Second begin to sob. She wanted to reach out and touch him, comfort him in this show of human emotion that he was never known for, but before she was given the chance they were interrupted.

"Well hello," came the nasally New Zealand drawl of Arno Blunt from the door, the sound of a gun being prepped behind Holly.

* * *

**Oh gods, I'm so sorry it took me so long to get this thing done, I have had such a bad case of writers block and addictions that keep popping up, I hope you guys can forgive me. I also have been busy with school and work, so it's not all been a load of sunshine and bubbles. I hope you don't mind another filler-ish chapter, I couldn't really figure out much fluff to squeeze in, but I did try, and that's what counts, right? I hope you like, I will try to be quicker with the next chapter!**

**~Tamdiu**


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